Stand Your Ground

With our family fast approaching that time in life where our teenage girls will leave the haven we call home, I have been diving into the realm of apologetics. Why? Because all 3 of our daughters will be encountering the world of higher education where their faith will be challenged by humanistic thought, atheistic relativism and the hopeless conclusions of evolution. When the questions come, I would like to be a father that has considered some of the concepts they will face. I will be grateful to have faced the same questions, owning a toolbox of resources to help answer the questions.

As a result, I have read books to challenge me and stimulate critical thought. Books like:

Tim Keller’s  The Reason for God,
Lee Strobels’ The Case for Christ,
Peter Hitchens’, The Rage Against God,
Anthony Flew, There is A God,
Francis Collins’, The Language of God,
CS Lewis’, Mere Christianity,
Michael Behe’s Darwin’s Black Box,
Stephen Meyer’s The Signature in the Cell,
Timothy Jennings, The God-Shaped Brain

While I cannot agree with everything said in some of these books, they offered differing points of view that have broadened my understanding.

Admittedly, I am only scratching the surface of the evidence in science and philosophy for the existence and relevance of God. I have not yet ventured into books which present the godless perspective on life. Nonetheless, these books have given me a few tools to stand my ground in the face of the doubts that may come. Ultimately, I know that God exists and that Jesus is my Savior simply because I walk with him. But I also need to know that God’s hand in the world can be seen and defended objectively. So I want to know more.

While in this frame of mind, I also thought we would use our family devotion time to take a look at a few apologetic-related videos available on RightNow Media. In this article, I would like to point out two video series that our family enjoyed and would recommend.

For a very broad apologetic view, William Lane Craig’s Reasonable Faith ministry (https://www.reasonablefaith.org) has produced a 13 video series called Apologetics: Reasonable Faith Defenders. These short videos are incredibly well done and simple. With clear logic, they explain the major points of philosophy and the historical record of Christ, giving ample evidence for the existence of God and the profound implications of the historical life of Christ.

To defend the accuracy and historicity of the New Testament record, Detective J. Warner Wallace has produced a video series called Cold-Case Christianity. Warner submits the New Testament to the principles of investigative law as if it were under trial. The result produces overwhelming evidence that we have an accurate historical record in the New Testament. His conclusion is that the life and words of Jesus are faithfully recorded by eyewitnesses in perfect position and time to do so. You will be surprised at how well our own system of law and order defends the claims of Christ.

So if you have not delved into the realm of apologetics and would like to do so, I suggest you set aside some time to view these videos and many more available on RightNow Media. Many of them are clear, simple and easy to understand. If you have teenagers, even more reason to take a look. RightNow Media has a wealth of resources available to help you stand firm in reasonable faith and offers great content for constructive family study and discussion.